Insurance policy kicks in for Chiefs, who once again have a duel-threat for Pats

KANSAS CITY — When Kareem Hunt made what surely ranks as the stupidest mistake of his life, he did more than at least temporarily ruin his career and cost himself millions of dollars. He spoiled the Chiefs’ chances of winning their first Super Bowl in 49 years.

Or so it appeared.

After their proper decision to release the star running back when a video surfaced of him pushing and kicking a woman, the Chiefs won only three of their remaining five games. And two of the victories were against the 4-12 Oakland Raiders.

Not only were they washing their hands of the NFL’s 2017 rushing king, but also one of the top duel-threats in the entire league. In 27 games with Kansas City, Hunt scored 25 touchdowns – 15 along the ground, while rushing for 2,151 yards, and 10 more with his 833 yards in receptions.

He had been particularly impactful in two games against the Patriots – who the Chiefs host Sunday in the AFC Championship game – with 27 carries for 228 yards and a touchdown, and 10 catches for 203 yards and three touchdowns.

Good thing they’ve had Damien Williams to fill the void.

After four years with the Miami Dolphins that ended in off-season surgery on a separated left shoulder, Williams signed with the Chiefs, shed his sling and cracked the 53-man roster as a special teams player and backup to the backup of Hunt. His role increased when Hunt was dumped, and he became the team’s No. 1 ball carrier when Spencer Ware suffered a hamstring injury.

Talk about taking advantage of opportunity.

In two of the last three games Williams has rushed for triple digits, including a 25 carry, 129-yard performance in the divisional round victory over the Colts.

They were the first 100 yard rushing games of his career.

Williams was so good against Indianapolis – starting with a momentum-setting, zigging-and-zagging 10-yard touchdown run on the opening drive and including a couple of other key, possession-maintaining jaunts – that an argument could be made the Chiefs might not be one step from their first Super Bowl appearance since 1970 without him.

After arriving in Kansas City with a wounded wing and to a crowded backfield, Williams never imagined he’d be in the position he is today.

“Not at all,” said Williams, who is backed-up by rookie Darrel Williams to provide the Chiefs with what Patrick Mahomes simply calls the ‘DWills’.

“This is the last thing I would have thought. At the end of the day, I know the type of player that I am, and I know that I was going to be involved in some kind of way. But being here, in this position right now, it’s amazing. If you know my history, where I started and where I am now, it means a lot to me.”

As key as the running game will be Sunday, Hunt provided as many headaches to the Patriots as a pass catching threat. Williams’ contributions in that area thus far with he Chiefs have been minimal.

Over his career, however, Williams has more receiving yards (893, on 108 catches) than rushing (733, on 183 carries) – although he says he’s really had to work on the former.

“If you call a couple of my (high school) coaches, they’re kind of mad. They’re like ‘where did you learn how to catch all of a sudden?’,” said Williams, who believes he can also have success against the Patriots as a receiver. “I feel like throughout my who career I was considered a third-down back, so I was in on a lot of those plays where you had to get outside and make those plays. Seeing those guys twice a year (with the Dolphins), I had to really study them and figure out ways to get open.”

And no doubt, the Chiefs will involve him in the passing game as the conference title is contested.

Williams earned his chance. Dave Toub, the Chiefs assistant head coach and special teams coordinator, says Williams brought a good attitude to his new job.

“He bought in all the way,” said Toub. “Coming in from where he was at, and he was a good special teams player over there, he just bought in to what we were doing. He became a leader for us. He ended up being our personal protector on our punt team, which is the captain of our punt team, and made a bunch of plays there … punt returner, blocked a punt for us, he was really coming on as a special teams player for us. When his chance arose where he could go out and show what he could do as a running back, he went out and did it.”

Head coach Andy Reid gives GM Brett Veach all the credit for bringing Williams in as an insurance policy that is now kicking in.

“He’s done a nice job stepping in,” said Reid. “Those were some big shoes to fill. Kareem did a nice job against (New England). I think Damien has done a nice job of stepping in and putting his own personality to that position, and how he plays the game. He brings a lot of energy. He has a short memory, which is important. If he has a hiccup in there, he jumps right back on and wants the ball again, and tries to do the right thing. We appreciate having him here and what he has done for our football team.”

Not to mention that – as a running back who can be effective both in the rushing and passing game – what he could do against the Patriots.

Injury turns out to be the silver lining in a dark cloud for Williams

KANSAS CITY — It was during a Week 12 game against the Patriots last year when Damien Williams suffered a separated shoulder that ended his season. He was only months from becoming a free agent, and his future was filled with uncertainty.

After making good with a chance to crack the Chiefs roster, Williams signed a two-year extension for $8.1 million two days before the last game of the 2018 regular season.

And however Sunday plays out for the Chiefs, he’ll go into the offseason with some security and at the top of the depth chart.

Williams acknowledges that the shoulder injury last year is at least partly responsible for his rise this year.

“The whole journey from getting hurt, coming here and having the Chiefs actually take a chance on me and being in the position I am in now … it’s something that I can’t really speak on and I think that’s why you see it in the way I play,” he said. “I play with a lot of passion because it means a lot coming back from the shoulder injury.”

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.